I have to start off by saying that my connection to Dave McElhatton is because I because I have
a degree in Broadcasting. I met “Mac” when he came to one of my college classes to tell us how be be a good broadcaster. The funny thing is that when you look at the words “good broadcaster” you kind of have to think. How hard is it to sit there and talk to people who aren’t there? Well aside from the homeless people downtown who will beg to differ with you even if you aren’t there, talking to the public via a microphone or camera isn’t as easy as it sounds.
“Mac” was good at what he did and I doubt he ever would have admitted it. He didn’t have the stern delivery of Walter Chronkite or the laughable “what drugs is he on?” of Dr. Don Rose, but Dave McElhatton was the kind of guy you’d want to sit down and have a beer with and just talk. I didn’t realize his long history in radio prior to seeing him team up with Wendy Tokuda for the news on channel 5. He was one of the first inductees into the Bay Area Hall of Fame. I always remembered in college how my teachers would use “Mac” as an example of the way someone should deliver the news. While he retired in 2000 he never sort of left my mind. When i read of his death I suddenly realized that he wasn’t doing the news anymore and he’s probably knocking one back with Walter and Dr. Don somewhere.